Fashion Designers And Their Mothers

Leah Bourne
, ContributorI write about what to wear to work and fashion and the workplaceOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Designer Rachel Roy As A Young Girl With Her Mother And Brother

A key influence for many womenswear designers is, unsurprisingly, their mothers. Like most, their earliest fashion memories came from home life, becoming an enduring influence. And, like for many, mom was the one at their side championing creative impulses and cheerleading career dreams. Just in time for Mother’s Day, five fashion designers reveal the impact and role their mother's played in shaping their point of view and career.

Rachel Roy:

“My mother is the most kind, gentle unassuming woman I know. Years past she wore a camel trench with a chocolate snakeskin belt as a dress, which was her chicest most understated look. To this day I design a trench dress in each of my collections. It’s from her that I learned the grace and beauty that comes from a quiet dignity.”

Gilles Mendel, CEO and Creative Director of J.Mendel:

“My mother, Bajla had a profound influence on me. She was extremely charismatic and beautiful, with impeccable taste. She was very close with designers such as Bernard Perris, André Courrèges, and Azzedine Alaïa, and her natural elegance and sense of style made her something of a muse. I can remember seeing her sitting beside Azzedine in her little mini cooper in Paris—like the one I now own in New York—and visiting his atelier with her when I was quite young. Without a doubt, I fell in love with the glamour and excitement of fashion because of my mother’s influence. It was a magical world I discovered through her eyes.”

Sophie Theallet:

“The irony is that my mother tried to dissuade me from being a fashion designer. She was gorgeous with platinum dyed hair from a bourgeois family, always very chic and groomed. She was worried that I would become like my father who was so eccentric, yet a well respected doctor. His mother was even more whimsical—she would walk the streets of Bordeaux with a black panther on a leash! In the end, my mother is very proud. She kept my feet on the ground, while I had my head in the clouds."

Chris Benz:

“I really am so lucky to have grown up with such strong and stylish women—my mother, Becky Benz, and my two grandmothers, Ninny and Deedee. My mom was always a working mom, and I remember being totally fascinated by her life at work and the chic outfits she would have on every morning as she scuttled my brother and me off to school. I suppose my mom really showed me the importance of effort and dressing the part. I've also always embraced opposing sensibilities in my personal style and the way I design, in large part due to the polarity in lifestyles of my grandmothers. My grandmother Ninny truly lived out everything high WASP and classic American Gothic, while my [other] grandmother Deedee was unapologetic for her high-flying Hollywood regency abandon. Canned cranberry sauce and Yorkshire Pudding, a prom dress and a flat, a navy blue blazer with a mixed print top and pant—these are a few of my favorite things thanks to my three favorite girls.”

Georgina Chapman, Co-Founder and Designer of Marchesa

British-born designer Georgina Champman has said that she was inspired by her mother’s costume jewelry collection at an early age, an influence on her opulent style that has made Marchesa a red-carpet favorite. Chapman says, “My mother always gave me the confidence to follow my dreams. She was always taking me to exhibitions. She always allowed me to experiment.”